


Scum of the Earth

by QuantumFeat72



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-31
Updated: 2018-01-31
Packaged: 2019-03-11 23:36:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13534941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuantumFeat72/pseuds/QuantumFeat72
Summary: A knight brings a prisoner to trial.  The prisoner refuses to keep their mouth shut.





	Scum of the Earth

**Author's Note:**

> (I wasn't really sure what to do with this once I wrote it but I don't think I'm the first to post original stuff on AO3 and I'm proud so here.)

“So... It’s been a few days.”  Cami pulled idly at their handcuffs and waited a moment for the knight to respond.  She didn’t.  “You gonna tell me where we’re going?” they continued, trying to disguise their apprehension under a thick layer of bravado.

The guard sighed and lightly kicked her horse, who started going a little faster.  Cami sighed inwardly: they were already having trouble keeping up.  They decided to stay quiet for a bit and see if the knight calmed down, but quickly got bored and spoke up again.

“Come on, I get that you’re a loner or whatever, but why not make use of good company while you have it?”  They grinned widely when the knight turned to look at them.  She scoffed and turned away.

Cami sighed and looked back at the chains connecting their wrists to the knight’s saddle.  It was bad enough that they’d been captured - she could at least let them ride on the horse.  Or talk to them.  Or do anything besides sit up there and ignore them.

“How are you not bored out of your mind?” they asked finally.  The knight rolled her eyes at them.  “Like, silence I get.  Not wanting to talk to me, I get.  For like, an hour.  But it’s been three days.  Won’t you at least tell me who you’re working for?”

“Another word from you and I’ll start galloping.”

Cami went silent.  It was the first time they’d actually heard the knight speak.  They were surprised at the seriousness of her tone, but she sounded a lot younger than they’d assumed.  After a while of walking silently, when they thought she must have had her fill of silence, they spoke up again.

“You’re a knight, yeah?  You’re dressed like one.  What’s your name?”

They were suddenly pulled almost off their feet by the chains as the horse broke into a run.  Cami sprinted to keep up, tripping on rocks and plants and barely keeping themself upright, until they weren’t upright anymore and the ground was tearing their pants at the knee and their shoulders were pulled taught as the horse dragged them across the ground.  Cami couldn’t stop themself from screaming, and soon the horse slowed to a stop.

Cami pushed themself onto their elbows and tried to inspect the damage to their legs, panting and sweating.  They heard the knight dismount and draw her sword.  They looked up at her, trying to look more angry than afraid, and saw that she was just standing there, sword drawn, watching Cami’s expression carefully.  Cami sighed and rested their forehead on the ground.

“Point taken,” they muttered.

The knight crouched and handed them a water-skin, which Cami took gratefully and drank half of before she pulled it away.  They sat up and got a better look at their knees - it wasn’t as bad as they would’ve expected, but they weren’t sure if they’d be able to walk again.

At least, not without healing them.

Cami looked back up at the knight wearily.  She was scrutinizing the wounds herself, looking contemplative, sword still drawn.

“Um... h-hey, I know I’m not supposed to speak, but I just have a yes or no question.”

The knight redirected her gaze and glared at Cami, who took their silence as permission to continue and asked, “Are you gonna stab me if I just cast one little spell?  I don’t think I can walk unless I heal this a little.”

They waited nervously for the knight to respond.  She watched their face for another moment before her expression hardened and the sword moved to Cami’s neck.  They jerked backward and tried to get their hands in the way of the sword.

“Okay okay I wont I get the picture I-”

They cut themself off when they felt the knight’s blade against their throat.   They froze and looked up at her, eyes wide and practically gasping for breath.  She glared impassively down at them and held the sword steady, although it trembled slightly from Cami’s heavy breathing.  They could already feel a small cut at their neck, but the knight seemed to be considering her options.

“One spell,” she said firmly, moving her blade just slightly so it wasn’t cutting them anymore.  “And it _better_ just be a healing spell.”

Cami swallowed thickly and nodded, slowly moving to get a better look at their wound.  The knight allowed them to sit up, but kept her sword a millimeter away from their throat as they moved.

It was hard to focus on their magic with the spectre of death looming over their shoulder, but Cami managed a simple healing spell on their worse knee.  They flexed the muscle in their leg a few times and looked back up at the knight, wearing their practiced grin.

“There, all done!”  They laughed nervously, and sighed in relief when the knight finally removed her sword from their throat.  “S-see?” they continued, maybe against their better judgement.  “I’m not gonna try anything, alright?  I know better than to think I could take you one-on-one.”

They watched the knight mount her horse again and stood up, hoping they hadn’t overstepped their bounds again, but she continued at a slow trot and they managed to limp after her without falling behind.

A long spell of silence passed and eventually Cami’s boredom won out again.  They decided to try to stay civil - maybe she was just put off by their manner of speaking.  That could easily be changed.

“Please tell me your name.”

The knight turned to look at them, surprised, and they met her eyes without their nervous smile, doing all they could to keep their expression neutral.  The knight stared for a moment, expression drawing to confusion, before returning her attention to the road.

“What do you care?” she asked, and Cami celebrated internally - A question!  An invitation to continue speaking!  There was hope for this yet!

It took them a moment to figure out how to answer, though.  Why _wouldn’t_ they care what her name was?

“You took me down,” they finally replied.  “I never even saw you coming.  It’s... well, ‘impressive’ doesn’t really describe it.”  They looked back at the road, thinking back to that embarrassingly brief fight.  “I’ve been challenged by a lot of people, and you’re the first I couldn’t beat.  Isn’t it natural to want to know your name?”

There was a pause, and Cami forced themself to wait for the knight to speak.  They hoped flattery would gain them something.  The knight sighed.

“That says more about your former ‘challengers’ than it does about me,” she replied simply.  “I was disappointed, actually.  You don’t live up to your reputation.”

Cami laughed, more easily than nervously this time.  “You aren’t the first to tell me that,” they said.  It was true - Cami wasn’t much of a fighter themself, but they had a lot of brilliant people backing them up.  They were sure this would’ve been a different story if the knight hadn’t confronted them alone.  They sighed, realizing the knight wasn’t going to say anything else, and added, “Still, I know a true warrior when I see one.  We could use someone like you.”  They muttered the last part, not really expecting the knight to hear them, but the horse suddenly stopped and she turned around with a look of rage on her face.

“What are you implying?” she demanded, getting ready to dismount.

Cami held their hands up and took a frantic step backward.  “Nothing - I’m not implying anything!  Just simple admiration for your abilities, that’s all.”

The knight scrutinized them for another tense moment before turning back to the road and nudging her horse to start walking again.  “No more talking,” she commanded.

Cami sighed and tried to find something else to get their attention.  This was incredibly frustrating - the knight seemed dead set on revealing nothing about herself.  Cami’s whole skillset revolved around talking their way out of problems, but this problem refused to be spoken to at all.

All they’d learned was that the knight had a personal disdain for them.  Not exactly a beacon of hope.

On the other hand, maybe they could get her to talk about that.  An angry rant would certainly be better than nothing at all.

When the knight’s posture relaxed a bit, they cleared their throat and said as nonchalantly as they could, “You really hate me, don’t you.”

The knight didn’t answer, but froze in place, still looking ahead at the road.

Cami swallowed and continued, “Can I ask why?”

Silence followed.  Cami waited for the knight to speak, and got distracted by the pain in their legs, and started wondering about whether she was planning on pausing for lunch anytime soon...

“You’re a coward.”

Cami looked sharply up at the knight, who was still facing away from them.  A coward, huh?  They weren’t afraid to admit that.

But admitting to it wouldn’t get them the information they needed.

“Am I?” they asked.  “I mean, I chose to fight, didn’t I?  However you feel about the rebellion...”

The knight made a disgusted, dismissive noise and continued.  “You and your people dare to call yourselves _rebels,_ as though you serve a cause?  It’s pathetic.”

Cami was stunned into silence for a moment.  That... cut surprisingly deep.  They swallowed their pride and tried to focus on getting her to keep talking.

“If we aren’t rebels,” they asked, “what are we?”

“ _Criminals_.”  The knight spit the word, turning to glare down at Cami.  “Common _thieves_ and _murderers_.  In all the time I’ve tracked you, you never showed an ounce of respect or decency.  You are the lowest scum of the earth.”

Cami bit their tongue, looking down.  They couldn’t afford to argue - that would gain them nothing.  Still, for her to entirely ignore everything that led them to this point... It hurt.

They shook their head and tried to control their thoughts.  It shouldn’t matter to them what this knight thinks - she’d been raised on lies, just like the rest of them.

They swallowed nervously and spoke.  “Then why bother taking me alive?  Was that an order, or...?”

The knight sighed.  “You’ll be killed for what you’ve done either way.  The people you’ve hurt - they deserve to see you stand trial for it.”

So she was working for the king.  Cami had suspected as much but... maybe they’d hoped otherwise.  “You’re bringing me to the capital, then?”

“I am.”

Cami nodded and went back to looking at their hands.  They were prepared to die - they had been from the day they’d joined the rebellion - but they still hoped there was some way out of this.

After letting another spell of silence pass, they decided to try to get her to listen to them.

“You’re right,” they started.  The knight looked back at them again, surprised.  Cami swallowed nervously and continued.  “I _am_ a coward,” they clarified, “but that’s my personal problem.  It has nothing to do with the others.”

The knight scrutinized them for a moment, then scoffed and turned away again.  “A person is no better than those they choose to follow,” she said confidently.  “As their leader, you can’t claim not to represent them.”

Cami stared up at her, gnawing their lower lip nervously.  She was right - it was their job to be the face of the rebellion.  It was their job to convince people to join, to rally people into a fighting spirit, to gain any good will they could in the eyes of the public.

It wasn’t their job to fight.

“I’m no leader,” they told her matter-of-factly.  She turned to look at them again, one eyebrow raised.  They offered up a sad smile, eyes half closed, before laughing.  “Nah, nobody joined because they wanted to follow _me_.  I wouldn’t want them to - I mean, you’re right, about that.”

“Then what the hell is your _job_?” the knight asked suddenly, stopping the horse and turning to look at them again.  “You’re useless in combat, you have no specialized skills or crafts, you don’t even _pretend_ to be a tactician - what _good_ are you to them?”

Cami laughed and gave her a full fledged grin, showing all their teeth and beaming with pride as they spoke.  “Moral support!” they boasted.  “I’m a figurehead - everyone knows that.  It’s my job to remind everyone why they fight, what we’re working toward, what brought us all together.  We’re all the family we’ve got, and it’s my job to keep everyone from forgetting that.”  They smiled to themself, no longer caring how they looked to her.  “I know it ain’t much of a job, but I think it’s worth something.”

The knight didn’t respond to that, and Cami didn’t expect her to.  The two continued in silence for a long while after that, and even after Cami’s good mood passed, they decided to give the knight time to think about what they’d said, and come to her own conclusions.

A few hours later, she finally stopped for lunch.  Cami sat down by the horse and inspected their legs again - this time going so far as to pull their pant legs up to get a better look at the wounds.  The one they’d healed was doing fine, and the other one, well, it would live.  They tried to pick some of the dirt out of it so it would heal right, and thought about asking for water to clean it with but quickly decided they’d rather _drink_ any water they were given.

When they looked up again, the knight was watching them carefully, ignoring the bread in her hands.  Cami quickly pulled their pant legs down again in a show of _I’m-not-gonna-try-anything-don’t-kill-me-please_ , and after a moment the knight went back to eating.

Cami pulled their knees to their chest and tried to ignore how good it smelled.  Their stomach growled in protest.  They rebuked it silently - they didn’t want to show any weakness by admitting how hungry they were.

It was still a long way to the capital, which they guessed explained why the knight had fed them at all - she did kind of want them alive.  Cami hoped they hadn’t pissed her off enough to withhold dinner that night.

Nevertheless, they stared at the knight as she ate, taking in her mannerisms, her expression, the way she stared back at them although she was lost in thought herself...

“Hey, can I ask you something?” they ventured, hoping she’d cooled off enough by now.

The knight said nothing, but did tilt her head in interest.

Cami continued, “You said before that a person is only as good as the people they choose to follow.  I know this is a dumb question but... what’s so great about the people _you_ chose?”

The knight swallowed a bite and raised an eyebrow.  “You’re asking why I follow the king?”

“Mhm,” mumbled Cami, as though they thought it was obvious, while secretly making a note that she was in it for the king himself and not any of his underlings.  That was going to make this harder.

The knight seemed to consider the question for a long time before she spoke.  “He’s better than the last king,” she mumbled.

“That isn’t saying much,” interjected Cami, and immediately regretted it when the knight glared at them again.

They thought she was going to stop there, but instead she closed her eyes and intoned, “I follow him because he’s the _king._ ”

“That’s _it_?”  Cami laughed.  “That’s your whole reason?”  They laughed some more, and the knight interrupted them by standing up and drawing her sword.  Cami instantly stopped laughing and put their arms up defensively.

“I’m sorry,” they said quickly.  The knight continued glaring, but didn’t move to hurt them.  Cami glanced nervously between her and her sword.  After a moment, they sighed quietly and added, “I shouldn’t have said that - I didn’t mean it.  I’m sure as hell in no place to judge you.”

The knight took a step back, looking satisfied, and sheathed her sword again.  Apparently having finished her bread, she started packing up to leave.

Cami thought about staying quiet for a while, but decided to try to distract her so they’d have longer to sit down.

“So, um...” they started, and watched her expression to be sure she wouldn’t stab them just for having the gall to speak.  “Is there a reason you don’t want to tell me your name?”

The knight looked up at Cami, thought for a moment, and went right back to ignoring them.

Hours passed.  Cami slogged behind the horse, trying to ignore the pain in their legs and stomach.  They wondered if they’d crossed a line during lunch, and decided it was best not to speak again for a while.  The knight’s demeanor didn’t change in the slightest.  She continued sitting on her horse, staring straight ahead, completely ignoring them.

Cami wondered how the rebellion would fare without them if they died.  At this point, that seemed like it was the most likely scenario.  They sighed in frustration.  If they could just get this one person on their side for just five minutes, they’d be home free.  They wondered briefly if she’d be susceptible to bribes before realizing that no, obviously not, what the hell were they thinking.

Not that Cami had the kind of money that would mean a _thing_ to someone with a full suit of armor and a horse with it’s _own_ full suit of armor.  It was ridiculous.

“I was born in Kombidia.”

Cami was shaken from their thoughts when the knight spoke of her own accord for the first time.  Kombidia... the country to the east.  Cami had barely even heard of it - it was so far away and so small compared to the other kingdoms.  They waited for the knight to continue.  She did.

“When I said ‘the last king,’ I meant the king of Kombidia.”  She sighed: a deep, contemplative sigh that left Cami more than a little confused.  “I came here when I was eleven.  I didn’t have anything or anyone, except Wrindermere here.”

“The horse?”

“Yes the _horse_.”  The knight sighed again and Cami waited for her to finish.  She continued before long.  “But I knew how to fight.”  She looked out at the side of the road, watching the countryside.  “I saved a nobleman’s life, so he took me in and raised me as his own.  I owe my life to this country.”  She paused for a moment and continued with a tone of solemn determination, “That’s why I serve the king.”

Cami took in everything she’d said silently, staring up at her to see if she’d turn around.  It sounded like she owed her life to one nobleman in particular - it didn’t make much sense for her to have a particular fondness for the king.  Nonetheless, whatever noble it was probably held the king in pretty high regard.  Cami looked back at the chains around their wrists.  They wondered what would have happened if she hadn’t been lucky enough to meet that noble.  They wondered if she’d be in Cami’s position now.

“You’re pretty lucky to have met that guy,” they said, trying not to sound hostile.

The knight replied after a moment, “I suppose I am.”

“If it was the king, he would have left you to die,” they added.

The horse stopped.

Cami felt their pulse quicken - maybe they shouldn’t have said that.  The knight dismounted and Cami pulled instinctively at their chains, backing up as far as they could.  She stepped toward them, sword drawn, an expression of pure rage on her face.  Cami pulled frantically away from her.

“W-wait,” they stammered.  The knight yanked at the chains and they lost their balance and fell to their knees.  The knight’s blade was at their throat before they had time to sit up.  “Nonono wait please,” they begged.  The blade pushed farther and began to draw blood.  Cami flinched away from it.  “I’m sorry I didn’t mean it please don’t kill me I’m sorry I-”

“Shut up.”

Cami went silent, cowering with their face in the dirt and the knight’s blade at their throat.  When they were still alive after a moment, they moved slightly to look back up at the knight.  Their throat burned and they could feel tears streaming down their face, and the knight glared impassively down at them with nothing but disgust in her features.  Cami held eye contact, silently begging for mercy.

The knight pulled the sword back for a moment and then brought it down against their back.  Cami screamed and jolted away before realizing she had used the flat side of her sword.  They looked up at her again, and for a moment they heard nothing but their own panicked breathing.

The knight shook her head and sheathed her sword.  “Good lord, you’re pathetic,” she said simply, and started making her way back to her horse.

Cami couldn’t stop themself from crying anymore.  They were hurt and exhausted and afraid and _alone_ , and everything was wrong and they didn’t know where they were or how far they’d been forced to walk or what would happen to them and it hit them all at once like a stampede of rich, ugly horses.  They felt their chains being pulled again and they couldn’t bring themself to stand up until their shoulders were painfully taught and they had to scramble to keep up.  They sobbed into their hands as they walked.  The more they held it back the harder they cried and the worse everything hurt.

“Shut up,” grumbled the knight.

“I’m sorry,” Cami whispered, barely coherent over their sobs.  “I’m sorry,” they repeated, trying to stop crying and breeding a burning pain in their throat and sobbing even harder.  “I’m sorry,” they mouthed silently, voice no longer working.

By the time they were done crying, the sun was setting on the horizon and Cami was completely drained.  The knight stopped the horse and they collapsed from exhaustion, barely even noticing that she’d unfastened the chain from the horse’s saddle and reattached it to a nearby tree.  They curled up into a ball and rested their head, trying desperately not to think too hard about anything that would start them crying again.

They’d almost drifted off to sleep when the knight held out a piece of bread.  Cami sat up and stared at it, surprised.  They’d been sure, after that last outburst, that she wouldn’t feed them again today, or possibly ever.

“Do you want it or not?” she asked, and Cami quickly nodded and took the bread from her.  They ate as fast as they could, which wasn’t very fast, and collapsed again shortly afterward.  They tried to steady their breathing, but it still caught every time they thought about anything.  They buried their face in their arms and tried to let their exhaustion take over.  They started crying again.

* * *

Cami blinked their eyes open and squinted against the light.  The knight was standing by the river, grooming her horse.  Cami rolled over and tried to go back to sleep, but it soon became clear they wouldn’t be able to.  They thought about what had happened the day before - why they’d just suddenly started crying like that - it seemed so stupid in hindsight.

Without warning, the knight grabbed them around the waist and lifted them off the ground.  Cami let out a startled yelp and scrambled to get their feet on the ground.  She released them once they did and grabbed their chains to reattach them to the horse.  Cami tried to read her expression, but it was once again infuriatingly blank.  They looked dejectedly back at their chains.  If they’d ever had a shot at talking their way out of this, it was gone now.

They followed when the horse started walking and tried to think of something to say that could possibly make up for the embarrassment yesterday had been.  They couldn’t think of anything.

The two of them traveled in silence until the knight stopped for lunch again.  Cami watched her eat, still silently hoping it might be worthwhile to get a read on her.  The knight ate in the same manner she always did, and finally stood up again and moved back towards the horse.

Before mounting, she paused and spoke without turning to look at them.

“My name is Freyja.”

Cami could do nothing but stare at her in shock.  The knight - Freyja - mounted her horse and started walking again without another word.  After following a few steps, Cami swallowed and responded.

“Freyja, huh?  That’s a good name,” they said.  “My name’s-”

“I know who you are,” the knight interrupted bitterly.  “You’re Camillo Apartes, coward leader of the band of _insects_ calling themselves rebels, thief, murderer, enormous pain in the neck.”

Cami laughed, surprising themself with how easy and relaxed it was.  “Yeah,” they conceded, “but my friends call me Cami.”

The knight Freyja sighed and Cami was sure she was rolling her eyes at them.  They considered that a victory - a mild annoyance that didn’t actually piss her off.  They were making progress.

They wondered what had prompted her to tell them her name.

After another spell of silence, Cami spoke up again.  “So, uh, about yesterday.”  They paused and waited a moment, giving her a chance to interrupt.  She didn’t.  “I’m... sorry for breaking down like that.  I can’t tell you how embarrassed I am.”

Freyja, to Cami’s surprise, turned to look at them.  She looked a little surprised herself, and Cami met her eyes for just a moment before looking back down at their chains.

They swallowed thickly before they spoke again.  “I, uh, don’t suppose you’d keep it between us?”  They laughed nervously, no longer watching her reactions.  “I have a reputation, you know.”

There was silence for a moment, and then, “You’re about to die and you’re worried about your _reputation_?”

Cami shrugged and grinned before remembering she wasn’t looking at them.  They tried to keep their tone lighthearted when they spoke.  “I’m a figurehead, remember?  It’s my _job_ to have a reputation.”  They sighed, looking down at the chains again.  “Heh... Honestly, I should be begging you to kill me.  I’ve seen how they execute prisoners.”  They shuddered a little at the thought, but pushed the feeling away and kept talking.  “But that wouldn’t be consistent with the way everyone has to think of me.”  They laughed again, a little more nervously this time.  “Or maybe that’s just an excuse to justify my cowardice.  I don’t know.”

Freyja turned to look at them again and Cami didn’t meet her eyes.

“We’re always taught to never be afraid of death.  I’m supposed to lead by example.”  They hugged themself, as much as they could with their wrists bound together.  “Some example I’ve been,” they muttered, punctuating it with a bitter laugh.  “I really _am_ pretty pathetic, huh.”

They waited for Freyja to respond.  She didn’t.

It occurred to them that there was something else they should be apologizing for.  They took a deep breath - they really didn’t want to say this.

“I, uh.  I’m sorry for what I said, too.”  The horse moved a little faster and Cami swallowed nervously.  “And I’m not just saying that.  I...”  They sighed, and weren’t sure if they were telling the truth when they continued.  “I was being stupid, because I’m jealous of you.”

The knight turned again and Cami forced themself to look her in the eye when they continued.

“I wanted to be like you, once,” they admitted.  “I thought if I was just good enough, strong enough, _brave_ enough... I could climb my way out of poverty through ‘respectable’ means.  I grew up wanting to be a knight.”  They watched Freyja’s expression flicker for an instant before she returned her eyes to the road.

“What changed?” she asked, and Cami was surprised by how... not-hostile it was.

They took another breath and continued.  “My family died.  Mom, Dad, my little brother, even my aunts and uncles all got sick and died in the same winter.  It was dumb luck that I survived at all.”  They paused, silently grimacing at the memory.  “But I wasn’t even old enough to _help_ maintain the farm, let alone run it myself, so the the lord of our village kicked me off of it.  For three years I had to steal to survive.  That didn’t change until the rebellion started.”

“You still steal.”

“Well, yeah, sometimes.  But it’s different now - we only steal from people who aren’t gonna be any worse off from losing what we took.”  People like you, they added silently.  “And I’m not alone anymore.  That’s what really matters to me - not being alone.”

“That certainly explains your infuriating tendency to run your mouth constantly.”

“I’m a professional conversationalist,” Cami bragged.  “One should never stop practicing their craft.”

For a moment, Cami thought they heard Freyja laugh.  She was silent again by the time they started listening, and it was a minute or two before she spoke again.  “I wasn’t going to tell anyone anyway,” she said.  “About your pathetic outburst, I mean.”  Cami waited a moment and started to reply, but she continued.  “It wasn’t worth talking about.”

Cami hesitated a bit longer in case she had something else to say before answering, “Thank you.”

* * *

Freyja didn’t wake them up the next morning.

Cami woke up when the sun was already encroaching far into the sky and looked around to see that they were alone.  They sat up, suddenly alert, and became aware that they were still chained to the same tree they were the previous night, at the top of a small hill with a stream running along the base of it.  They pushed themself against the tree, thinking fast about whether there was any way out of this and if they were gonna be attacked by wolves which direction they’d come from and what they could do to defend themself.

They heard footsteps behind them and turned to see Freyja, leading her horse back up from the stream.  She sat down by the pile of her things, which Cami now realized was still there.  They rebuked themself for being stupid enough to assume she’d really just up and left.

Freyja started eating a piece of bread that Cami guessed must be her breakfast.  They waited for her to tie them to the horse again, silently resigning themself to a long day of walking after this late start.  Freyja finished her bread and didn’t move to stand up.

Minutes passed like hours and Cami slowly grew more and more confused.  They wanted to ask what the hell was going on, but they also wanted to savor the rest and didn’t want to draw attention to themself.

Eventually their curiosity and boredom won out and they spoke.

“Are we, uh, leaving?  Anytime soon?”

“No,” Freyja replied simply.

Cami blinked a few times, even more confused now.  “Uh... Why?”

Freyja declined to answer, instead going back to the... it looked like a small weaving project, that she’d been occupying her hands with.

Cami pulled their knees to their chest and let themself get comfortable against the base of the tree.  As utterly confusing as this was, it was better than walking.  They weren’t about to complain.

Hours passed, and Cami tried to make smalltalk to alleviate their boredom, but Freyja mostly ignored them, enraptured with the tiny loom in her hands.  Cami didn’t even know there _were_ looms that small.  They wondered why a knight would bother owning one.

“So... what are you weaving?” they ventured in another attempt at smalltalk.

“Yarn,” replied Freyja, looking up to see Cami’s frustrated glare and then smiling to herself.  “I’m just practicing,” she clarified.

Cami hummed in acknowledgement, watching her movements intently.  “So, are we waiting for something?  Or some _one_?”

Freyja held her small tapestry up to the sun and closed one eye, watching how the light shined through it.  “We are.”

“Which is it?” Cami demanded.

Freyja ignored them and went back to weaving.

Night came, and Freyja laid down to sleep without giving Cami any food.  They thought about doing nothing - they still didn’t want to show weakness - but their stomach won out and they spoke before they could stop themself.

“Do I not get to eat today?” they asked, trying not to sound sarcastic or aggressive.

Freyja rolled over to look at them through half-lidded eyes.  “I didn’t make you walk at _all_ today,” she said.  “I’ll feed you tomorrow.”

Cami wanted to argue, but they suspected it was pointless, so they laid down and tried to get to sleep anyway.

It didn’t come easily - their legs still hurt, and their stomach hurt, and they weren’t tired enough to make up for it.  They laid awake for hours after they heard Freyja start snoring, half trying to sleep, half trying to think.  They didn’t trust this.  Freyja had said she was bringing them straight to the capital, so what changed?  Where were they?  They could be a hundred miles in the opposite direction for all they knew.

Cami wanted to hope whatever was going to happen was better than being executed, but that was harder and harder to believe the more they thought about it.  Being quiet was one thing, but why would she have bothered lying outright if not to keep them from trying to escape?  What could she have been hiding?  Something twisted in their gut, amplified by their gnawing hunger.

What could possibly be worse than being tortured to death in town square?

* * *

For most of the next day, all Cami could think about was food.  They tried to ignore it, suspecting that if they asked for something they’d only make their situation worse.  They slept as much as they could - well into the afternoon - and spent the rest of the day curled up in a ball, watching Freyja dejectedly and trying to think of something to say.

They didn’t want to admit to their fear, but it scared them that she wouldn’t tell them anything.

The sun hadn’t quite set yet when Freyja finally took pity and gave them a piece of bread.  Cami took it gratefully, swallowing the whole thing almost whole.  It hurt going down, but they were too satisfied to care.

They were still hungry when they were done, but it was back to the subtle hunger they’d been dealing with for the days prior, and they were mostly able to ignore it.

After giving themself some time to digest, Cami’s mind wandered back to their current predicament.  When it got dark enough that Freyja couldn’t see her weaving anymore and she put it down to start building a fire, they finally spoke.

“Please tell me what’s going on,” they said, trying to mimic the way they’d acted earlier to get her to talk to them in the first place.  Freyja looked up at them quizzically, still working on the fire.  Cami buried their face in their knees and continued, “I can handle it if I know what’s coming.  Please just tell me.”

Freyja seemed to consider answering for a moment, but went back to ignoring them without a word.

* * *

“What if you could still be a knight?”

Cami looked up at Freyja, who was staring contemplatively at them over her weaving.  They didn’t know what to say at first, but she continued.

“I mean... hypothetically, if someone was in trouble and you helped them, and afterward you found out they were a noble and they offered to knight you, would you accept?”

Cami had to think about it.  They fidgeted with their chains and looked up at the afternoon sky.  They would be tempted.  God, they would be tempted.

But would they do it?

“There are people in the rebellion who would make the right choice,” they replied finally, looking back at the ground in shame.  “I’m not one of them.  I’d do it.”

“Why on earth would that be wrong?” asked Freyja, sounding genuinely concerned.

Cami grumbled at the dirt, “We could recruit and sustain a dozen fighters for the price it takes to feed your horse.”  They sighed and looked up again.  “I wish I could say I would take the money and use it to fund the rebellion, but I don’t know.  At the very least, I’d keep a lot more than I needed.”

“It’s not shameful to take care of yourself,” Freyja argued, and Cami glanced back at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Not if you’re taking more than you need when others are starving,” they replied.  “Why do you care, anyway?  This isn’t like you.”

“Don’t claim to know me,” she snapped, and Cami almost flinched at her tone.

They decided it would be best not to aggravate her any further, and the two of them fell silent again.

* * *

That night, Freyja’s weaving became hurried and anxious - a stark contrast to the precise, calm movements she’d made before.  The change made Cami nervous, but they elected not to ask lest she go to greater lengths to hide it from them.  She nearly forgot to eat dinner herself, and didn’t feed Cami at all.

* * *

On the fourth night, she gave them another piece of bread and paced nervously around the camp while they ate it.  Cami was sure of it by now - whatever was supposed to happen, whatever she was waiting for, it should have happened by now.

Freyja sat down by the fire with a resigned sigh, tapping her fingers against the ground and staring at the flame as though it would give her answers.  Cami didn’t dare interrupt her.

Finally, she sighed again and stopped fidgeting before looking back up at Cami.

“They’re not coming, are they?” she asked, looking at them expectantly.

“Who?” replied Cami, raising an eyebrow at her tone.

“Your people - the other rebels.  They’re not looking for you.”

Cami was stunned into silence for a moment.  That’s what this was - a trap.  She hadn’t kept them alive out of some sense of honor, but so she could use them as bait to lure their family out.

The thought made them sick.  They answered honestly, “No.”

“They care that little?” she scoffed.

“We never go chasing after people who’ve gotten captured.  We can’t afford to.”  Cami sighed, avoiding her eyes to look at the fire.  “We stick together as much as we can - we’re all we’ve got, after all - but once you’re captured you’re on your own.”  Anyone unlucky enough to be taken alive was as good as dead anyway.  Cami remembered learning about that rule - they’d hated it at the time, but now they understood.  “They’ve probably mourned and moved on already,” they said.  “It’s how they are.”

Freyja sighed and stood up, retrieving her sword from her pack and unsheathing it carefully.  “This has been an enormous waste of my time,” she grumbled, walking toward them.

Cami looked up at her with wide eyes, but there was nothing they could say in their defense.  They could feel themself starting to cry again, so they screwed their eyes shut and buried their face in their knees, willing themself not to shake.

They felt the blade at their throat and tried to think of some famous last words, but even if they had any, it wasn’t like they would ever be known.  They took a deep breath and braced themself.

“Stand up,” Freyja commanded, and Cami looked up at her, confused.  She was glaring down at them, her blade pressed steadily against their throat.  It didn’t hurt.

Cami stood on shaking legs, watching her warily as they did.  She pulled something out of her pocket, and Cami’s eyes perked up hopefully.  It was a key.

Freyja unlocked Cami’s shackles and they watched in disbelief as the chains fell to the floor.  They didn’t dare speak with the blade still pressed against their throat, but they did rub at their wrists instinctively, which felt rather small after being restrained for so long.

Freyja took a breath and stepped back, sword still pointed at Cami but now a good four inches away from them.  They met her eyes and she glared back at them.

“You’re not worth the bounty I’d get for killing you,” she told them.  “Get out of my sight, Cami.”

Cami stumbled backward, feeling their way around the tree they’d been chained to without taking their eyes off of her.

“Thank you, Freyja,” they stammered, and ran.


End file.
